One of the longest-reigning streaks in professional League of Legends history has been broken thanks to a team that has continued to surpass any and all expectations throughout the 2023 LCS season.
In a dominant sweep, Golden Guardians are continuing their run through the LCS Championship bracket and making their way to yet another international tournament this year. To keep their Worlds dream alive, they had to bring Dignitas’ upward momentum to an end—notably breaking Jensen’s historic seven-year-long streak of qualifying for and competing in consecutive World Championships.
The veteran mid laner stepped away from his blue and white jersey of Cloud9 once more at the start of this year following his first championship victory last summer but joined a team that was nearly in complete disarray. Despite the handful of veterans that made up the Dignitas roster, the team struggled immensely throughout the entirety of the Spring Split, resulting in a tenth-place finish after accumulating just three total wins across eight weeks.
A slight tweak to the roster with the addition of Rich and Diamond appeared to make all the difference for Dignitas in the Summer Split. The team had their ups and downs during the shortened split, though ultimately the communication issues that plagued the team just a few months before appeared to be bandaged, earning them a spot in the playoffs bracket.
Related: LCS Summer Split 2023: Scores, standings, and schedule
Yet for Golden Guardians, a surprise upper-bracket loss to NRG did little to deter the synergy that the team had perfected throughout the year, one that had brought the organization as a whole to its first playoffs finals and MSI. Though Dignitas pushed hard to stop the sweep from Golden Guardians in the final game of the series, it was Licorice—veteran top laner who earned a spot in the first team all-pro and recipient of the most improved player award—that answered with a strong early-game lead on K’Sante that he was able to carry to the end.
The third representative for the LCS at this year’s World Championship will be determined this Sunday when Golden Guardians move on to face Team Liquid in the lower bracket—a team that eliminated the triumph of Evil Geniuses just last night. Either of these teams is eligible to be the LCS’ fourth seed, though that distinction will only be provided if they beat the LEC’s fourth seed in the Worlds qualifying series.
Cloud9 and NRG will battle in the winner’s finals of the 2023 LCS Championship tomorrow, though both teams have locked in spots in New Jersey and at Worlds.
